FLORIDA -- It weighs 160 pounds and stands 3 feet tall, but Jim Massimiani's English mastiff looks like it would rather sleep than fight.
The dog, named Slough, rested contentedly on a shady front porch and licked the concrete floor while his master talked about the two neighborhood dogs Slough has fought in the last two months.
"He won't attack people," said Massimiani, who lives in an unincorporated area near Pompano Beach. "All he's trying to do is protect the property. He'll attack any dog that comes on the property or looks like it's going to."
Hope Koppel, owner of a dog Slough sent to the veterinarian last May, said it may be only a matter of time until a person is injured.
"If that dog ever gets a kid, what's the guy going to say, 'I'm sorry?'" Koppel said.
Francis Sabatini of the 3800 block of Northeast 16th Terrace was knocked down but not injured Tuesday when Slough attacked her dog as she walked him past Massimiani`s house in the 1500 block of Northeast 40th Street, she said.
"It's terrible, that dog is a monster," said Sabatini. "He got my dog by the throat, and I thought he was dead."
Sabatini said her dog, a Siberian husky named Duke, was not injured. But Koppel said her dog, a 6-year-old Labrador and German shepherd mix named Spooky, needed 13 stitches to close gashes following its bout with Slough.
Koppel said she and her husband were walking Spooky on a leash on the street in front of Massimiani's house when Slough broke his clothesline tether and charged. As Slough bit Spooky in the right flank, Koppel used the soda bottle she was drinking from as a weapon, she said.
"I poured the Coke over his face and hit him with the bottle, but I couldn't get him off," Koppel said.
Koppel said her husband, Mark, started running toward home with Spooky, but Slough followed and continued biting the dog. Massimiani, who said the Koppels were walking Spooky on the swale of his yard, ran out of his house and called Slough off.
In photographs Koppel said she took of Spooky after bringing him home from the vet, several sutured gashes are visible in the middle of a shaved area on the dog's side. Except for a small, open wound, the injuries have healed.
The vet bill was $173. Massimiani said he agreed to pay it a little at a time, but quit after giving Koppel two $20 payments in June, claiming Koppel wanted too much money at once. She has filed suit in small claims court for the rest of the money plus the expense of two $10 checkup visits Spooky needed.
"It's not the payment," Koppel insisted. "What if that dog gets a kid?"
Massimiani said he doesn't mind going to court, if only to get an acceptable payment schedule.
Massimiani, who has owned the 7-year-old Mastiff since getting the $800 dog as a gift from a friend four years ago, also owns a pit bull. Both dogs are usually penned up in Massimiani's fenced-in back yard, he said.
Massimiani claims the Mastiff is "obedience trained" and insists all dogs sometimes get into fights.
"Dogs will be dogs. It's as simple as that," he said.
Well clearly he's not going to do anything. Isn't animal control going to do anything about it?
(Sun Sentinel - July 21, 1985)
Sunday, July 21, 1985
Florida: City of Sunrise Urged To Ban Pit Bulls
FLORIDA -- Walter Eason's neighbor has two pit bull dogs and, therefore, Eason believes he has a problem.
"I can't even let my son go in the back yard because I'm afraid he'll put his hand through the fence and then he won`t have one," Eason said.
Eason, who lives in the 6400 block of Northwest 24th Place, appeared before the City Council last week asking city officials to do something about the dogs; get rid of them if possible.
According to a city ordinance enacted three years ago, pit bull dogs in Sunrise must be registered with police and dog owners must carry $100,000 in insurance against possible attacks.
The two pit bulls that Eason complained about are kept in a home in the 2400 block of Northwest 64th Avenue. The owner of the house is listed as C. Block, according to Chief Code Enforcement Officer Mel Silverman.
(Sun Sentinel - July 21, 1985)
"I can't even let my son go in the back yard because I'm afraid he'll put his hand through the fence and then he won`t have one," Eason said.
Eason, who lives in the 6400 block of Northwest 24th Place, appeared before the City Council last week asking city officials to do something about the dogs; get rid of them if possible.
According to a city ordinance enacted three years ago, pit bull dogs in Sunrise must be registered with police and dog owners must carry $100,000 in insurance against possible attacks.
The two pit bulls that Eason complained about are kept in a home in the 2400 block of Northwest 64th Avenue. The owner of the house is listed as C. Block, according to Chief Code Enforcement Officer Mel Silverman.
(Sun Sentinel - July 21, 1985)
Tuesday, July 16, 1985
Florida: Mail carrier recalls day when Pit Bull and German Shepherd mix jumped inside her mail truck and tried to kill her
FLORIDA -- Six days have passed since mail carrier Louise Johnson thought she would die from a raging pit bull terrier.
And, every night, she has relived the attack that "seemed like forever."
"I've been waking up fighting," she said. "I've been hurting myself because I've been fighting (the dog) off so hard. I really thought that was it for me at one point in the back of the Jeep."
Johnson was delivering mail in an unincorporated area of Broward County near Pembroke Park July 10 when a pit bull and a mixed-breed German shepherd jumped into her Jeep. Both dogs belong to Lynn Thompson and Mike Thompson of 5619 SW 38th St.
The pit bull, Bam-Bam, bit Johnson nearly 50 times, leaving her with deep gashes in her right arm and leg and bite marks on her other leg and arm. The right arm remains bandaged.
The dogs remain at Broward County Animal Control. Both are under a police hold, said Larry Atwell, assistant director of Animal Control.
In her 12 years of working for the U.S. Postal Service, Johnson said, she has been chased by many a dog. "But this was my first dog bite," she said.
On Friday, Johnson filed a $5 million lawsuit against the Thompsons. She claimed they should have restrained their pets and that she suffered permanent damage as a result of the attack.
On Monday Johnson, 44, was sitting in her hospital room at Humana Hospital South Broward, accepting visitors and talking about going back to the route she has worked for six years.
The attack started just after Johnson put mail in the Thompsons' mailbox, which is just outside a chain-link fence that surrounds the house.
"Like usual, I drove up and I saw the dogs doing like they always do, barking and jumping on the fence," Johnson said. "I always make sure the fence is closed.
"I put the mail in the box and turned to check on my next delivery. I heard this noise and both dogs were jumping into the Jeep.
"They start started attacking me. I screamed and hollered. But no one helped me."
She saw one of the neighbors standing in his yard watching the attack. She screamed and begged him for help.
"But he said, 'That's not my dog,'" Johnson recalled.
At some point during the struggle inside the Jeep, one of the dogs knocked the gear shift, jolting the Jeep forward. The movement closed off the window on the driver's side when it came to rest against the Thompson's fence, Johnson said.
"All I could think of was, 'I've got to get out of this Jeep or else he's going to kill me,'" she said.
She tried to get Bam-Bam away from her by grabbing onto his neck chain, setting her hopes of escape on the window on the other side of the Jeep.
"I figured somebody would come by and try to help me -- throw a rock or something," she said.
No one did.
Once outside, she threw dirt in Bam-Bam's face. That didn't do the trick.
"Then I saw the fire truck, and I said, 'Thank God, I'm going to get help,'" she recalled. "But I guess they were afraid of the dog because they didn't get out of the truck."
Finally, after "what seemed like forever," Broward Sheriff`s Office Deputy Debbie Cox drove up and turned the siren on. Bam-Bam released his grip, and Cox pulled her police car between Johnson and the dog, allowing Johnson to climb in and be rushed to the hospital.
Johnson said she expects to get out of the hospital in a few days. Then she will wait for the pain to subside and the clearance from her doctor to return to work -- to the very same route she has been doing for six years.
"Even if I went to another route, there'd still be dogs," she said.
(Sun Sentinel - July 16, 1985)
And, every night, she has relived the attack that "seemed like forever."
"I've been waking up fighting," she said. "I've been hurting myself because I've been fighting (the dog) off so hard. I really thought that was it for me at one point in the back of the Jeep."
Johnson was delivering mail in an unincorporated area of Broward County near Pembroke Park July 10 when a pit bull and a mixed-breed German shepherd jumped into her Jeep. Both dogs belong to Lynn Thompson and Mike Thompson of 5619 SW 38th St.
The pit bull, Bam-Bam, bit Johnson nearly 50 times, leaving her with deep gashes in her right arm and leg and bite marks on her other leg and arm. The right arm remains bandaged.
The dogs remain at Broward County Animal Control. Both are under a police hold, said Larry Atwell, assistant director of Animal Control.
In her 12 years of working for the U.S. Postal Service, Johnson said, she has been chased by many a dog. "But this was my first dog bite," she said.
On Friday, Johnson filed a $5 million lawsuit against the Thompsons. She claimed they should have restrained their pets and that she suffered permanent damage as a result of the attack.
The attack started just after Johnson put mail in the Thompsons' mailbox, which is just outside a chain-link fence that surrounds the house.
"Like usual, I drove up and I saw the dogs doing like they always do, barking and jumping on the fence," Johnson said. "I always make sure the fence is closed.
"I put the mail in the box and turned to check on my next delivery. I heard this noise and both dogs were jumping into the Jeep.
"They start started attacking me. I screamed and hollered. But no one helped me."
She saw one of the neighbors standing in his yard watching the attack. She screamed and begged him for help.
"But he said, 'That's not my dog,'" Johnson recalled.
At some point during the struggle inside the Jeep, one of the dogs knocked the gear shift, jolting the Jeep forward. The movement closed off the window on the driver's side when it came to rest against the Thompson's fence, Johnson said.
"All I could think of was, 'I've got to get out of this Jeep or else he's going to kill me,'" she said.
She tried to get Bam-Bam away from her by grabbing onto his neck chain, setting her hopes of escape on the window on the other side of the Jeep.
"I figured somebody would come by and try to help me -- throw a rock or something," she said.
No one did.
Once outside, she threw dirt in Bam-Bam's face. That didn't do the trick.
"Then I saw the fire truck, and I said, 'Thank God, I'm going to get help,'" she recalled. "But I guess they were afraid of the dog because they didn't get out of the truck."
Finally, after "what seemed like forever," Broward Sheriff`s Office Deputy Debbie Cox drove up and turned the siren on. Bam-Bam released his grip, and Cox pulled her police car between Johnson and the dog, allowing Johnson to climb in and be rushed to the hospital.
Johnson said she expects to get out of the hospital in a few days. Then she will wait for the pain to subside and the clearance from her doctor to return to work -- to the very same route she has been doing for six years.
"Even if I went to another route, there'd still be dogs," she said.
(Sun Sentinel - July 16, 1985)
Saturday, July 13, 1985
Florida: Neighbors tired of being terrorized by Leroy Felt and Tammy Felt's three pit bulls
FLORIDA -- Three pit bull terriers escaped twice from their owners' home last week and ran after several residents, forcing one man to climb on top of a car to avoid being bitten, police said.
While no one was injured, residents said the dogs appeared violent.
"I'm afraid to come out of the house," said Becky Aloi, who lives in the 8000 block of Northwest 66th Terrace, the same street where the dogs' owners live.
Aloi said the dogs saw her standing in the doorway of her house and ran up to her. She said she closed the door before the dogs reached her but "they hit the door so hard the house shook."
Tamarac residents said the dogs jumped over six- and seven-foot fences to get onto their properties.
According to Tamarac police, the dogs escaped from their owner`s home July 6 and Wednesday. Police cited the owners, Leroy Felt and Tammy Ann Felt, for violating a city ordinance requiring dogs to be kept on leashes outside of homes.
The Felts are scheduled to appear in Broward Circuit Court Aug. 27 on the ordinance violation.
Residents who live in the city`s Heathgate-Sunflower development said they`re angry police can`t restrain the animals.
Lillian Pyle said she called the police and, "When I talked to an officer he said, 'Keep your children inside.' Can you imagine that?"
Tamarac Police Lt. Roger Oprea said, "There's no law that says we can lock up the dogs (if they haven't attacked anyone). We can cite the owners for the leash violation and confine the dogs for up to five days, but that's it."
Residents complained to Stephen Mersal, president of the Heathgate-Sunflower Homeowners Association. Mersal said he would speak to city officials and try to have the matter discussed at the City Council's July 24 meeting.
(Sun Sentinel - July 13, 1985)
While no one was injured, residents said the dogs appeared violent.
"I'm afraid to come out of the house," said Becky Aloi, who lives in the 8000 block of Northwest 66th Terrace, the same street where the dogs' owners live.
Aloi said the dogs saw her standing in the doorway of her house and ran up to her. She said she closed the door before the dogs reached her but "they hit the door so hard the house shook."
Tamarac residents said the dogs jumped over six- and seven-foot fences to get onto their properties.
According to Tamarac police, the dogs escaped from their owner`s home July 6 and Wednesday. Police cited the owners, Leroy Felt and Tammy Ann Felt, for violating a city ordinance requiring dogs to be kept on leashes outside of homes.
The Felts are scheduled to appear in Broward Circuit Court Aug. 27 on the ordinance violation.
Residents who live in the city`s Heathgate-Sunflower development said they`re angry police can`t restrain the animals.
Lillian Pyle said she called the police and, "When I talked to an officer he said, 'Keep your children inside.' Can you imagine that?"
Tamarac Police Lt. Roger Oprea said, "There's no law that says we can lock up the dogs (if they haven't attacked anyone). We can cite the owners for the leash violation and confine the dogs for up to five days, but that's it."
Residents complained to Stephen Mersal, president of the Heathgate-Sunflower Homeowners Association. Mersal said he would speak to city officials and try to have the matter discussed at the City Council's July 24 meeting.
(Sun Sentinel - July 13, 1985)
Friday, June 28, 1985
Florida: Wiley Garcia, 18, gets 6 months unsupervised probation after his Pit bull mauls neighbor's llama
FLORIDA -- Wiley Garcia, 18, of Hollywood was placed on six months probation Thursday and fined $250 for violating a Broward County ordinance against unleashed dogs.
Garcia's mixed pit bull severely mangled the leg of an exotic speckled llama named Lulu on Jan. 25. The attack occurred in a pasture of an unincorporated area in the 3500 block of Northwest 94th Avenue near Hollywood.
Garcia's pet was killed in the attack when Lulu's llama lover, Beau, sat on the dog and suffocated him, prosecutor Leonard Stafford result, according to Stafford.
The pregnant llama, which was only one month away from giving birth, ended up having a miscarriage due to the stress and injuries.
(Sun Sentinel - June 28, 1985)
Earlier:
Garcia's mixed pit bull severely mangled the leg of an exotic speckled llama named Lulu on Jan. 25. The attack occurred in a pasture of an unincorporated area in the 3500 block of Northwest 94th Avenue near Hollywood.
Garcia's pet was killed in the attack when Lulu's llama lover, Beau, sat on the dog and suffocated him, prosecutor Leonard Stafford result, according to Stafford.
The pregnant llama, which was only one month away from giving birth, ended up having a miscarriage due to the stress and injuries.
(Sun Sentinel - June 28, 1985)
Earlier:
Saturday, March 23, 1985
Pennsylvania: Fifteen-year-old brat chunked a giant rock at a flamingo at zoo, severing its legs and killing it
PENNSYLVANIA -- A 15-year-old boy who allegedly threw a rock at one of the Pittsburgh Zoo's pink flamingos, severing its legs and prompting its death, was trying "to make that bird fly," police said yesterday.
The youth surrendered to police yesterday morning and was charged with criminal mischief, cruelty to animals and criminal trespassing, all misdemeanor offenses, said Officer Thomas Mahr.
The boy, who has not been identified because of his age, was detained at the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center until a hearing is held within 10 to 14 days.
The youth told police he threw a rock at an African Great flamingo because he wanted "to make that bird fly," Mahr said.
The rock severed the bird's legs, forcing zoo officials to put the bird to sleep because of profuse bleeding.
Mahr said the boy was one of a rowdy gang of seven boys and one girl, all about 15 years old, who raced through the zoo Wednesday afternoon and scaled a fence at the outdoor African waterfowl exhibit.
The boy was considered a suspect after all eight youths had been interviewed Thursday evening. Police do not plan to arrest the other youths, Mahr said.
Police tracked the youths from information they received from anonymous phone callers, local radio stations and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"One of the kids bragged about it to someone,"said Victor Foster, vice president of the Association for Animal Relief.
(The Morning Call - March 23, 1985)
The youth surrendered to police yesterday morning and was charged with criminal mischief, cruelty to animals and criminal trespassing, all misdemeanor offenses, said Officer Thomas Mahr.
The boy, who has not been identified because of his age, was detained at the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center until a hearing is held within 10 to 14 days.
The youth told police he threw a rock at an African Great flamingo because he wanted "to make that bird fly," Mahr said.
The rock severed the bird's legs, forcing zoo officials to put the bird to sleep because of profuse bleeding.
Mahr said the boy was one of a rowdy gang of seven boys and one girl, all about 15 years old, who raced through the zoo Wednesday afternoon and scaled a fence at the outdoor African waterfowl exhibit.
The boy was considered a suspect after all eight youths had been interviewed Thursday evening. Police do not plan to arrest the other youths, Mahr said.
Police tracked the youths from information they received from anonymous phone callers, local radio stations and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"One of the kids bragged about it to someone,"said Victor Foster, vice president of the Association for Animal Relief.
(The Morning Call - March 23, 1985)
Wednesday, February 20, 1985
Florida: Women starting a grass-roots campaign aimed at having pit bull dogs declared wild and dangerous animals that should be kept penned up at all times
FLORIDA -- Two women, each traumatized in one form or another by pit bull dogs, are fighting back.
Laurie Fatta and Sally Gould are starting a grass-roots campaign aimed at having pit bull dogs declared wild and dangerous animals that should be kept penned up at all times.
They also want to force pit bull dog owners to buy insurance to pay the medical costs of attack victims. They think owners should face criminal felony charges if their pet injures people or animals.
Fatta, 21, of Pembroke Pines, was attacked Feb. 5, 1983 by a pit bull at a friend's house. Two years and 13 operations later, Fatta still bears minor scars on her face and requires more reconstructive surgery to correct damage inflicted by the animal.
Gould, 33, of unincorporated Broward just north of Hollywood, fears her two children will be attacked by a pit bull that roams her neighborhood.
She is the girlfriend of a man whose 6-year-old daughter, Virginia "Jenny" Miller, was attacked by a pit bull Jan. 21, 1982.
James Miller, the girl's father, lost a civil suit in Broward Circuit Court seeking damages to compensate him for the attack.
"Jenny testified in court: 'The dog bit my face and shook me like a doll,'" Gould said. "Something has to be done. Too many people are getting hurt."
Fatta collected $100,000 in an out-of-court settlement, but she said the money has been spent on attorney fees and medical costs.
"How I got through that night, I'll never know," Fatta said of the attack. "What followed was many operations, years of mental anguish and lots of expenses."
The two women are writing to various public officials, including President Reagan, in hopes of getting support for their cause. They are trying to find victims of pit bull dog attacks and sympathizers who will aid their efforts. A petition drive is planned to persuade legislators to enact tough restrictions on pit bull dogs and their owners.
Hollywood previously had a law requiring pit bull dog owners to register their animals with City Hall and to purchase $50,000 in liability insurance.
In 1980, the Florida 4th District Court of Appeal struck down the law because, it ruled, one cannot determine the viciousness of an animal based on its breed.
The Hollywood law was challenged by the Everglades Pit Bull Club, which contended the dogs are faithful companions who rarely attack unless provoked. Bad breeding, rather than bad blood, is the main cause of attacks, owners have regularly said.
Fatta and Gould disagreed. They cite an ABC television documentary that contended the dogs will attack at random, regardless of breeding.
Broward residents have registered 972 pit bulls, according to county records. Since September 1981, the county has recorded 105 pit bull dog bites, about 7 percent of the total number of dog bites recorded in Broward.
In December, 7-week-old Daniel Smith was killed by a pit bull dog in Davie. In January, two llamas were attacked by a pit bull at a farm near Hollywood. The dog died in the llama attack.
Neither woman has been a social activist before, but both said they are determined to succeed.
"If I have to go door-to-door in Broward and Dade counties to get support, I`ll do it," Fatta said. "Those dogs are bred for fighting and to enjoy killing."
(Sun Sentinel - February 20, 1985)
Laurie Fatta and Sally Gould are starting a grass-roots campaign aimed at having pit bull dogs declared wild and dangerous animals that should be kept penned up at all times.
They also want to force pit bull dog owners to buy insurance to pay the medical costs of attack victims. They think owners should face criminal felony charges if their pet injures people or animals.
Fatta, 21, of Pembroke Pines, was attacked Feb. 5, 1983 by a pit bull at a friend's house. Two years and 13 operations later, Fatta still bears minor scars on her face and requires more reconstructive surgery to correct damage inflicted by the animal.
Gould, 33, of unincorporated Broward just north of Hollywood, fears her two children will be attacked by a pit bull that roams her neighborhood.
She is the girlfriend of a man whose 6-year-old daughter, Virginia "Jenny" Miller, was attacked by a pit bull Jan. 21, 1982.
James Miller, the girl's father, lost a civil suit in Broward Circuit Court seeking damages to compensate him for the attack.
"Jenny testified in court: 'The dog bit my face and shook me like a doll,'" Gould said. "Something has to be done. Too many people are getting hurt."
Fatta collected $100,000 in an out-of-court settlement, but she said the money has been spent on attorney fees and medical costs.
"How I got through that night, I'll never know," Fatta said of the attack. "What followed was many operations, years of mental anguish and lots of expenses."
The two women are writing to various public officials, including President Reagan, in hopes of getting support for their cause. They are trying to find victims of pit bull dog attacks and sympathizers who will aid their efforts. A petition drive is planned to persuade legislators to enact tough restrictions on pit bull dogs and their owners.
Hollywood previously had a law requiring pit bull dog owners to register their animals with City Hall and to purchase $50,000 in liability insurance.
In 1980, the Florida 4th District Court of Appeal struck down the law because, it ruled, one cannot determine the viciousness of an animal based on its breed.
The Hollywood law was challenged by the Everglades Pit Bull Club, which contended the dogs are faithful companions who rarely attack unless provoked. Bad breeding, rather than bad blood, is the main cause of attacks, owners have regularly said.
Fatta and Gould disagreed. They cite an ABC television documentary that contended the dogs will attack at random, regardless of breeding.
Broward residents have registered 972 pit bulls, according to county records. Since September 1981, the county has recorded 105 pit bull dog bites, about 7 percent of the total number of dog bites recorded in Broward.
In December, 7-week-old Daniel Smith was killed by a pit bull dog in Davie. In January, two llamas were attacked by a pit bull at a farm near Hollywood. The dog died in the llama attack.
Neither woman has been a social activist before, but both said they are determined to succeed.
"If I have to go door-to-door in Broward and Dade counties to get support, I`ll do it," Fatta said. "Those dogs are bred for fighting and to enjoy killing."
(Sun Sentinel - February 20, 1985)
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